1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to arrow shooting toys, and more particularly to a toy set that includes an air gun which when fired produces a pulse of compressed air which acts to shoot the arrow off a launching tube to which the pulse is delivered.
2. Status of Prior Art
The use of bow and arrows for hunting and war dates back to antiquity. These were widely used in ancient Egypt, Persia and North and South Africa. American Indians and the English were particularly skillful archers. The heads of arrows were first made of burnt wood, then of flint or bone, later of bronze and finally of steel. The cross bow developed in the Middle Ages was far more powerful than an ordinary bow, but it took a ratchet mechanism to bend the cross bow.
Children have never lost their fascination with bows and arrows, and toy versions thereof are used in archery and in playing many games, such as cowboys and Indians. But parents have not shared their children's enthusiasm for toy bows and arrows, for parents have a continuing concern with possible injury from relatively stiff toy arrows, even those whose heads are of soft material or are blunt.
Presently on the market is a Parker Brothers "Bow 'N Arrow" toy set, the arrows of which are formed of soft, foam plastic material to which guide fins are attached, the arrow having an axial bore in its rear section, so that the arrow can be slidably received on a launching tube which then extends into the bore. Attached to the midsection of the bow is a rearwardly-extending barrel having a spring-biased piston slidable therein. The piston is joined to a piston rod which extends from the rear end of the barrel and is joined to a grip or handle. Projecting forwardly from the midsection of the bow and communicating with the front end of the barrel is the launching tube.
When a player pulls the handle back and then releases it, the piston is then driven toward the front end the barrel to compress the air therein and produce an air pulse that is delivered to the launching tube to shoot off the arrow mounted therein.
This known type of set which fires a soft arrow can safely be used for target practice, distance challenges and for playing games such as tag. However, one practical drawback of this set is that it cannot be cocked; that is to say, set for firing before the arrow is aimed. The player is required to hold the handle in its pulled back position while he aims the arrow; for the moment he lets go of the handle, the arrow will shoot off the launching tube.
A similar soft, arrow is disclosed in the Bednar et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,993,297 in which an arrow-like rocket is slipped over a launching tube which is held by the player, the tube being coupled by tubing to a compressible rubber bulb. When the bulb is compressed by the foot of the player, the resultant pulse of compressed air is delivered by the launching tube to the rocket, causing it to take off.
In the Fertig et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,065, a foam plastic toy airplane is mounted on a launching tube to which a pulse of compressed air is supplied by a hand-operated cylinder and piston. A similar pump arrangement is provided in the compressible, soft foam plastic ball launcher disclosed in the Moormann U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,081.